(Newser)
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A gun battle has erupted near Afghanistan's presidential palace between national security forces and the Taliban shortly after explosions rocked the central Kabul neighborhood. A huge plume of smoke was rising from the area near the Afghanistan Central Bank, government ministries and a luxury hotel popular with westerners, reports the Washington Post. At least one bomb exploded near a gate of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's compound, according to local TV reports.